SYDNEY, NSW – (5th May) 2026: Surfing NSW, in partnership with Liveheats, has delivered a major step forward in how grassroots surfing is understood and supported, creating the first connected, statewide view of participation across New South Wales, after 2 years in the making.
For decades, grassroots surfing has operated through independent boardriding clubs, manual processes and fragmented systems. While this structure has been central to the culture of the sport, it has also limited visibility across participation, progression and performance.
Through its collaboration with Liveheats, Surfing NSW has now connected this landscape by bringing together competition and participation data into a single, unified system.
Already widely adopted by clubs for competition management and event delivery, Liveheats has provided the digital backbone for the sport. Surfing NSW has built on this foundation by integrating Liveheats data into a centralised system, creating a single view of activity across clubs, regions and events.
The result is a more connected and accurate reflection of how surfing operates across the state, while still supporting clubs at all levels, including those transitioning from paper-based systems.
For the first time, Surfing NSW has a clear and consistent view of its community.
New Insights Into Surfing NSW’s Community
Early insights are already reshaping how the organisation understands and supports the sport:
- 50% of members are under 18, reinforcing the importance of strong junior pathways
- 40% of participants are aged 35–65, highlighting surfing as a lifelong sport
- Female participation has increased overall by 26% since the pandemic, with the strongest growth in younger age groups
- 35% of members under 12 are female
- Surfing NSW represents a community of more than 11,400 members, making it the largest grassroots surfing network in Australia
These insights are now informing how Surfing NSW delivers events, supports clubs and develops its athlete pathway, while also creating new opportunities for partners to engage with a highly active coastal and family-based audience.
“Liveheats were already embedded across our clubs. This partnership has allowed us to build a more connected system on top of that,” said Surfing NSW CEO Lucas Townsend.
“For the first time, we have a clear view of our community. We understand who our members are, how they participate, and where we need to focus. That changes how we support clubs, how we grow the sport and how we create value for our partners.”
The partnership also represents an evolution for Liveheats, extending its role from a live scoring tool to a broader infrastructure and data partner within the sport and wider community.
“A federated approach links clubs through a universal membership platform, integrated data, clearer communication channels and invaluable knowledge sharing, while still preserving their fierce local independence and identity.
When those connections are in place, pathways become stronger and more accessible, and the result is a lift in performance at every level of the sport. We believe it’s a better outcome for NSW clubs, athletes and the NSW surfing community as a whole and we can already see the effect of this in the water,” said Chris Friend, Liveheats CEO and Co-Founder
Tracking Athlete Progression Through Data
With this foundation in place, Surfing NSW is now exploring how data can further support athlete development.
Through LiveHeats’ AthleteIQ platform, performance trends can be tracked over time, from boardriders club level through to regional events and national pathways, giving athletes and coaches greater visibility over progression.
This includes access to full competitive histories across all affiliated athletes, from local club events through to state and national competitions, alongside daily event insights such as waves ridden, average heat totals, excellent score rates and peak performances.
The platform also enables progression to be mapped over time, whether across a single event, a season, or multiple years, providing a clearer understanding of development at an individual, club, regional and state level.
Beyond event-day results, AthleteIQ allows surfers to build a more complete picture of their performance, identifying strengths, areas for improvement and patterns across different conditions.
In doing so, it creates a more personalised performance framework, supporting more informed decisions around training, preparation and long-term development.
Strengthening the Pathway From Grassroots to Elite
This creates a clearer connection between grassroots participation and elite progression, strengthening how talent is identified and supported across New South Wales, and aligning with the objectives of Surfing NSW’s LAB program.
The initiative forms part of Surfing NSW’s broader organisational reset, focused on modernising how the sport is governed, delivered and grown at a grassroots level.
With data now embedded at its core, Surfing NSW is entering its next phase, with a focus on more targeted club support, smarter event delivery, stronger pathways and a more connected surfing community across the state.
About Liveheats
Liveheats is a leading competition management platform for action sport organisers, athletes and fans that provides organisations of all sizes with pro-level tools to manage memberships, registrations, judging, live scoring, live streaming and deep competitive analytics to engage fans worldwide.